This is a small piece of information from "The Ottawa Sun" (Canadian newspaper from Ottawa, Ontario), Feb. 14, 1999:

"Most Canadians wanted to avoid 'till death do we apart' when Harlequin Enterprises [in a annual Romance Report using answers from more than 7,800 people from 20 countries] asked them, "If you had been on the Titanic, would you have..."

Split up, so at least one partner could survive -- 16%

Died together -- 10%

Both tried to make it by hanging on to life raft -- 65%

Declared 'every person for himself or herself' -- 3%"

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), February 15, 1999

Answers

For once, 65% of the public is correct. Maybe it's because this isn't an American political poll. One of the many lapses of logic in Titanic (Including: How in hell did they salvage that safe from the wreck?, and: How did Rose spend two days on the Carpathia and only notice the necklace in her pocket upon arrival in New York?) is that both Rose and Jack could clearly have made it onto that flotsam if they had positioned themselves properly. They both weighed about the same. Even if not, they at least could have tried a little harder. I mean, come on! Jack "I'm a survivor" Dawson tries ONCE then graciously submits to death?

Wait! There's more. After the sinking Jack has to punch out a panicking man who's trying to use Rose as a life preserver. But then they both swim 20 yards to a completely overlooked and unoccupied large piece of floating debris. And dozens of survivors bobbing all around them close by make no attempt to join or displace them? Come on!

But I digress.

Count me among the 3% in the above poll.

-- Dalton (foo@bar.com), February 16, 1999.

I guess that I would be among the 65% in this poll. While viewing the movie, my husband suggested that if he had seen me safely into a lifeboat, (as Jack did Rose), then he would have ran to the lowest part of the ship, jumped off, and swam to a nearby lifeboat. Easier said than done, I'm sure, considering the temperature of the North Atlantic, the proximity of the bow to the ocean, as well as the proximity of the nearest lifeboat. I guess that would have given us about a 75% chance of BOTH of us living, perhaps a little higher even.

And Dalton, I don't think Jack "gracioulsy submitted to death". Remember, he, as well as countless others, were anticipating the return of the lifeboats. At this point, after being submerged in that freezing water for the length of time he was, HOPE was probably all that he had left to go on. Remember..."Water THAT cold, hits you like a thousand knives...you can't breathe...you can't think..."

-- Courtney (theclarkes@sprint.ca), February 16, 1999.

Good answer Courtney!!! I have to agree with Dalton (something I never thought I would do) about one little thing.....No one else tried to overtake or join them on the debris they had found?! Oh well....guess it was just in the script! LOL

-- Miranda Swearingen (Kylen1@hotmail.com), February 16, 1999.

What about the remaining six percent?

I've heard the suggestion that tearing-off doors and such to construct a make-shift raft would have been another viable survival strategy; was gaffer tape available back in 1912?

-- Thomas M. Terashima (titanicshack@yahoo.com), February 16, 1999.

That missing 6%:

Used your partner as a floatation device -- 3%

Blamed the "Republican-controlled" Congress for the iceberg -- 3%

{added line break -- actually, a paragraph tag}

-- Dalton (foo@bar.com), February 17, 1999.

Damn! Forgot the line break. "HTML 4 in 24 Hours" my ass!

-- Dalton (foo@bar.com), February 17, 1999.

Hmmm...I don't think I fit into any of those categories. Where's the one where you find one of those handy axes Rose used to free Jack and use the axe to make your own large pieces of wall to float on?

-- Nonnie Parker (x96smock@wmich.edu), April 16, 1999.